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Megalithic architecture and funerary practices in the late prehistory of Wadi Tanezzuft (Libyan Sahara)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2015

Savino di Lernia ,
Giovanni B. Bertolani ,
Francesca Merighi ,
Francesca R. Ricci ,
Giorgio Manzi  and
Mauro Cremaschi
Savino di Lernia
Affiliation:
CIRSA, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Via Palestro 63, 00185 Rome, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]
Giovanni B. Bertolani
Affiliation:
CIRSA, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Via Palestro 63, 00185 Rome, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]
Francesca Merighi
Affiliation:
University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Via Palestro 63, 00185 Rome, Italy
Francesca R. Ricci
Affiliation:
University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Dip. BAU, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Giorgio Manzi
Affiliation:
University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Dip. BAU, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Mauro Cremaschi
Affiliation:
CNR, Centro Geodinamica Alpina e del Quaternario, Via Mangiagalli 34, 20100, Milano, Italy
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Abstract

Recent surveys conducted by the Italo-Libyan Joint Mission of the University of Rome “La Sapienza” in the region of Wadi Tanezzuft (Libyan Sahara) revealed a huge number of sites characterised by the presence of stone tumuli and other megalithic constructions, usually associated with funerary rituals. During the 1999-2000 field seasons, one of these sites—site 96/129—was subjected to systematic excavation, revealing the construction technique of these monuments and showing evidence of human burials. It sheds new light on the funerary practices and anthropological features of the ancient populations of the region. Radiocarbon determinations placed this site at the very end of the Late Pastoral culture, some 3000 uncalibrated years bp. The skeletal material generally shows a good state of preservation and has been the object of a first morphological appraisal. The population of site 96/129 comprised long-limbed and relatively gracile humans, with labour-related afflictions; their dental dimensions consistently follow the trend of dental reduction known for post-Pleistocene human populations. Of great interest are the relationships with the emergence of Garamantian civilisation. Some traits of the funerary practices show the existence of a local heritage, whose roots may be sought in prehistoric times, in particular the position of the corpses and features of grave goods. On the other hand, the presence of multiple burials, the evidence of burnt animal bones, together with small concentrations of ashes in the monuments seem in contrast with the known funerary practices of prehistoric Pastoral sites of the Acacus and surroundings. Such evidence is compared with the regional analysis of megalithic architecture in the Tanezzuft valley, and discloses a tantalising perspective on the cultural trajectories and related biological pulsation in the area.

Type
Articles
Information
Libyan Studies , Volume 32 , 2001 , pp. 29 - 48
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Libyan Studies 2001

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